Colors in Culture: In Nepal, Red Rules.

Nepali culture is amazing and its embrace of the color red is seen everywhere in the lives of the Nepalese. The rhododendron is the national flower, and the national flag is overtly red. Monks love red, are seen everywhere in their bright red robes. Nepali women love red. They celebrate their life with everything that is red. When they get married, they are decked in red. Because for them, red is the color of joy.

Red is also the color of revelry or piety, and holds a prominent niche in the Nepalese lifestyle When there is a festival or worshiping of a god or goddess, they worship their gods with vermilion – a brilliant reddish scarlet pigment originally made from the powdered mineral cinnabar – because red is the promising color. The red-robed Machhendranath – both a saint and yogi in Buddhist and Hindu culture – is one of the ancient immortals of Kathmandu. The living goddess, Kumari, is painted red. Nepali women put a red bindi on the center of their forehead which is considered ‘the seat of concealed wisdom’; their bangles, beads, blouses and saris are usually red, as well.

We’ve seen that red is used by so many cultures in combination with other colors. But in Nepal, red rules. So, how does red influence the way you decorate and the attire you wear?